UPSI to offer degree course in Tamil Studies

UNIVERSITI Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) will have a Tamil Language Department from July, offering courses in Tamil Studies.

UPSI vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Aminah Ayub said the introduction of a degree course in Tamil would help ease the demand for teachers in primary and secondary schools.

There will be a pioneer intake of 20 students this year but the university is having talks with the authorities to increase enrolment to 60 students, Tamil Nesan quoted her as saying.

Prof Aminah was speaking to reporters after Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam visited UPSI.

The university already has a Chinese Language Department.

> Malaysia Nanban reported that only 60 Malaysians applied for the 25,000 vacancies available in Indian Muslim restaurants nationwide.

Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Operators Association (Presma) president Noorul Hassan Saul Hameed said that locals were not keen to work despite the good salary and benefits offered.

Indian Muslim restaurants are facing a shortage of workers because of the government’s clampdown on illegal foreign workers, he said.

Noorul Hassan said the association would give the Home Ministry a list of the number of foreigners currently employed.

The association, he said, was hoping that the ministry would reduce the fine for foreign workers who overstayed.

● Other News & Views is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with this > sign, it denotes a separate news item.